Wireless networking allows wireless devices to share information and resources via wireless communication. Examples of wireless devices used in wireless networks include laptop or desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, data terminals, data collection devices, household appliances, and other portable and non-portable wireless computing devices. Many devices that support wireless networking standards may also support other communication standards, such as standards commonly used for voice communications.
One family of standards developed to facilitate wireless networking is set forth in the IEEE 802.11 standards. The original IEEE 802.11 standard provides wireless data transfer rates of 1-2 Megabits per second (Mbps) in a 2.4-2.483 Gigahertz (GHz) frequency band (hereafter the 2.4 GHz band). However, a number of extensions to the original IEEE 802.11 standard have been developed in an effort to increase wireless data transfer rates.
The IEEE 802.11b standard (sometimes referred to as 802.11 wireless fidelity or 802.11 Wi-Fi) provides 11 Mbps transmission, with a fallback to 5.5, 2.0 and 1.0 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. The IEEE 802.11g standard is another extension of the IEEE 802.11 standard. The IEEE 802.11g standard utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in the 2.4 GHz frequency band to provide data transmission at rates up to 54 Mbps. The IEEE 802.11g standard also provides backwards capability with 802.11b networks. The IEEE 802.11a standard is an extension of IEEE 802.11 standard that utilizes OFDM in a 5 GHz frequency band to provide data transmission at rates up to 54 Mbps. Other wireless networking protocols include “Bluetooth protocols” developed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Additional extensions to the IEEE 802.11 standard, as well as other wireless local area network (WLAN) standards will likely emerge in the future.
One challenge in wireless networking involves dealing with “jammer signals.” Jammer signals generally refer to noise signals received by a wireless device that do not correspond to data packets supported by the device. Jammer signals may be caused by signals sent from other devices operating according to protocols not supported by the wireless device, signals emitted from microwave ovens, cordless telephones, or any other devices that emit electromagnetic radiation. In many wireless networking standards, the operating frequencies are unregulated, and thus, the presence of jammer signals in the operating frequencies are likewise unregulated.